Charles Murphy Receives Halert C. Shepheard Award For Merchant Marine Safety

Rear Adm. Charles P. Murphy, USCG (ret.), general manager, ship construction, Sea-Land Service, Inc., has been named recipient of the second annual Halert C. Shepheard Award for achievement in marine safety.

The award was established by the American Institute of Merchant Shipping in honor of the late Rear Adm. Halert C. Shepheard, who served in the United States Coast Guard as Chief, Office of Merchant Marine Safety, and was internationally acclaimed for his work in the field. The award is administered by the American Bureau of Shipping, and was presented to Rear Admiral Murphy by ABS chairman Robert T. Young at the Bureau's annual Board of Managers dinner held at the New York Yacht Club on November 9.

The award cited Rear Admiral Murphy as "a leader, administrator, delegate, and spokesman (who) has shown a widely respected lifelong concern for and dedication to merchant marine safety." A graduate of the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, Rear Admiral Murphy joined the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation in 1935, and became Chief of the Hull Technical Section in 1939. The Bureau's functions were transferred to the United States Coast Guard in 1942 and Rear Admiral Murphy advanced there to Chief, Merchant Marine Technical Division, and subsequently, Chief, Office of Merchant Marine Safety.

During his Coast Guard career, Rear Admiral Murphy represented the United States in various international maritime safety forums. He was a member of the U.S. delegation at the Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea in 1948 and 1960, when he also served as U.S. spokesman on the Nuclear Power Committee. Between 1959 and 1970, he attended numerous meetings of bodies of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), including sessions of the Maritime Safety Committee, Council and Assembly. In 1968 and 1969, he was elected chairman of the IMCO Maritime Safety Committee. In 1969, he also served as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the International Conference on Tonnage Measurement of Ships.

In 1968, the Secretary of Transportation awarded Rear Admiral Murphy the Legion of Merit for performance as Chief, Office of Merchant Marine Safety. In 1970, the Secretary again recognized Rear Admiral Murphy's performance with a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit. Rear Admiral Murphy was also cited by the Department of State in 1970 in a Tribute of Appreciation.

Rear Admiral Murphy retired from the Coast Guard in 1970 and joined Sea-Land Service, Inc. as manager, ship construction, Europe, during the building program of the eight SL-7 containerships. He subsequently was appointed to the position of director, technical relations, and recently to his present position of general manager, ship construction.

Rear Admiral Murphy has served as chairman of the Ship Structure Committee, and is a member of the Technical Committee of the American Bureau of Shipping. He is the author of "Lifesaving Equipment and Aids to Navigation," a chapter in the book, Design and Construction of Steel Merchant Ships.

The Rear Admiral Halert C. Shepheard Award consists of a Steuben crystal eagle, a citation, and leather presentation book.

Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 13, Dec 1977

Read Charles Murphy Receives Halert C. Shepheard Award For Merchant Marine Safety in Pdf, Flash or Html5 edition of December 1977 Maritime Reporter

Other stories from December 1977 issue

Content

Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.